1
as in dual
consisting of two members or parts that are usually joined
the double-edged purpose of the sales promotion is to clear out existing stock and to attract new customers
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2
as in ambiguous
having an often intentionally veiled or uncertain meaning
her double-edged remark that she hoped that I ultimately got what I deserved
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Recent Examples of double-edged
However, trust is double-edged.
—
Julian Hayes Ii, Forbes.com, 25 Aug. 2025
In the cognitive realm, artificial intelligence is similarly double-edged.
—Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 29 Apr. 2025
Putin boasts of Russia’s record-low 2.3% unemployment rate, but this sword is double-edged.
—Christian Edwards, CNN, 26 Jan. 2025
For Eisenberg’s film, the decision is double-edged: from the perspective of the characters, exceptional demands are placed on the dialogue to make their past come to life, but the dialogue isn’t sufficiently rich or imaginative to meet the challenge.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 5 Nov. 2024
Usually double-edged, the weapons were occasionally decorated with engraved patterns.
—Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Mar. 2024
Among artists and intellectuals, technology has always been double-edged, utopian and dystopian.
—Jed Perl, The New York Review of Books, 27 Apr. 2023
Nearly all executives and investors in this niche of neurotechnology acknowledge Musk’s impact on the field, though some say it is double-edged.
—Daniel Gilbert, Washington Post, 3 Mar. 2023
Trending For Sohn, identity is double-edged.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 15 Feb. 2023
Julian Hayes Ii, Forbes.com, 25 Aug. 2025
In the cognitive realm, artificial intelligence is similarly double-edged.
—Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 29 Apr. 2025
Putin boasts of Russia’s record-low 2.3% unemployment rate, but this sword is double-edged.
—Christian Edwards, CNN, 26 Jan. 2025
For Eisenberg’s film, the decision is double-edged: from the perspective of the characters, exceptional demands are placed on the dialogue to make their past come to life, but the dialogue isn’t sufficiently rich or imaginative to meet the challenge.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 5 Nov. 2024
Usually double-edged, the weapons were occasionally decorated with engraved patterns.
—Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Mar. 2024
Among artists and intellectuals, technology has always been double-edged, utopian and dystopian.
—Jed Perl, The New York Review of Books, 27 Apr. 2023
Nearly all executives and investors in this niche of neurotechnology acknowledge Musk’s impact on the field, though some say it is double-edged.
—Daniel Gilbert, Washington Post, 3 Mar. 2023
Trending For Sohn, identity is double-edged.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 15 Feb. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for double-edged
Adjective
-
Upstairs, there is a full-floor primary suite with a fireplace and dual walk-in closets.—
Celia Fernandez,
CNBC,
31 Oct. 2025
-
That includes the screen, as well as a series of shortcut button sets, a knob, and dual sliders.—
Abhimanyu Ghoshal,
New Atlas,
31 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
With stunning celerity, possibility becomes probability and then certainty, as readers reject the quiet, circuitous, and unglamorous narratives of prudential compromise, ambiguous diplomacy, or incremental progress.—
Elizabeth D. Samet,
Foreign Affairs,
29 Oct. 2025
-
Ibsen’s choice to use Hedda’s maiden name for the play speaks to her resistance to the strong presence of men in her life; DaCosta’s choice to remove the surname entirely speaks to a rejection of patriarchal identity, replaced with an ambiguous void that Hedda herself doesn’t know how to fill.—
Rory Doherty,
Time,
29 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The festival featured a range of 252 titles (comprising features, shorts, series and immersive works) hailing from 79 countries this year, with 41 percent of works from female and non-binary filmmakers.—
Lily Ford,
HollywoodReporter,
6 Nov. 2025
-
His win shows a collective institutional political fatigue, and inspires hope, in a particularly dark time, that there is new light and new solutions to be found in American politics beyond the binary confines of institutional Democrats.—
Newsweek Contributors,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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In recent weeks, fans expressed concern after Spears posted dancing videos but opted to turn off comments on posts that had cryptic captions about her kids, Jayden James, 19, and Sean Preston, 20.—
Madison E. Goldberg,
PEOPLE,
8 Nov. 2025
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Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones dropped a cryptic hint that a blockbuster trade was coming, and after the team acquired linebacker Logan Wilson from the Cincinnati Bengals, many fans and analysts criticized Jones for overdelivering.—
Michael Gallagher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
To better understand how solar wind energy interacts with Mars’ atmosphere and magnetic environment, and how that might have altered the planet's surface, NASA and the University of California, Berkeley's Space Sciences Laboratory are sending twin orbiters to the Red Planet.—
Matthew Glasser,
ABC News,
8 Nov. 2025
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In a twist, the babies turned out to be boys, just like Dante and his twin brother.—
Daniella Gray,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Add to that list Inhotim, a sprawling and relatively obscure contemporary art collection in the jungle of the state of Minas Gerais that surpasses any notion of what a museum can be.—
William O'Connor,
Travel + Leisure,
5 Nov. 2025
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Mamdani began his campaign as a relatively obscure state lawmaker, little known even within New York City.—
Sydney Lake,
Fortune,
5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos were looked at by many across the NFL as a dark-horse Super Bowl contender before the season started.—
Mark Kern,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Nov. 2025
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Sor Juana’s verses confirm that venturing into the dating pool is always like stepping into a dark abyss.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
4 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Double-edged.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/double-edged. Accessed 9 Nov. 2025.
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